What is the importance of elimination strategy in UPSC CSE prelims and how to improve aur elimination strategy?
The elimination strategy in the UPSC CSE Prelims is an essential approach to effectively answering questions when you are unsure about the correct answer. It helps maximize your chances of selecting the right option by removing clearly incorrect answers, thus increasing the probability of selecting the right one, even when you don’t know the exact answer.
Importance of the Elimination Strategy in UPSC CSE Prelims
Increases Chances of Correct Answer:
- In multiple-choice questions (MCQs), there is a 25% chance of answering correctly by random guessing. By eliminating at least one or two clearly incorrect options, you increase the probability of selecting the right answer to 33.33% or 50%, depending on how many options are eliminated.
Saves Time:
- Rather than spending too much time on a question you don’t know, quickly applying elimination can save you time and allow you to move on to other questions, especially when time management is crucial in the exam.
Helps in Reducing Negative Marking:
- By eliminating wrong answers, you reduce the chance of making an incorrect guess, which helps minimize the chances of losing marks due to negative marking (1/3 of the marks for a wrong answer).
Works Well for Tough Questions:
- Some questions in UPSC CSE Prelims may be extremely tough, but by applying the elimination strategy, you can sometimes find the correct answer even if you don’t know the exact concept tested.
How to Improve Your Elimination Strategy
Improving your elimination strategy comes with practice and understanding common patterns in UPSC Prelims questions. Here’s how you can sharpen it:
Know the Commonly Incorrect Options:
- UPSC often includes options that are clearly wrong, based on the wording of the question or factual knowledge. With practice, you’ll get better at spotting these.
Understand the Syllabus and Key Concepts:
- The more you study, the better you will understand which options are irrelevant. Strong knowledge of the syllabus helps you differentiate between the right and wrong options.
Apply Common Sense:
- If you don’t know the answer, use common sense. Often, the UPSC exams are designed in a way where one or more options seem illogical or irrelevant. By critically analyzing the question, you can rule out options that don’t make sense.
Cross-Check Keywords in the Question:
- Pay attention to keywords in the question. Words like “always”, “never”, “most likely”, “except”, and “only” can be key to eliminating options. For example, if a question says “Which of the following is not a part of…”, this means you are looking for an option that is not related.
Practice with Previous Year Papers:
- Practicing with previous year’s questions will help you get familiar with the pattern of questions and typical answer choices. Over time, you’ll be able to eliminate incorrect options quickly.
Example from Previous Year Question Papers
Let’s go through a real-life example from the 2020 UPSC Prelims to demonstrate how the elimination strategy works.
Question Example:
Consider the following statements:
- The Indian Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
- The Rajya Sabha is a directly elected body.
- The Rajya Sabha is presided over by the President of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Options:a) 1 and 2 only
- b) 2 and 3 only
- c) 1 only
- d) 1, 2, and 3
Step-by-Step Elimination:
Statement 1: “The Indian Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.”
This is a factually correct statement, so you can consider it as valid.
Statement 2: “The Rajya Sabha is a directly elected body.”
This statement is incorrect. Rajya Sabha is not directly elected. Members are elected by the members of the State Legislative Assemblies, not by the general public. So, you can eliminate any option containing Statement 2 as true. That means, Option A (1 and 2 only) and Option B (2 and 3 only) are incorrect.
Statement 3: “The Rajya Sabha is presided over by the President of India.”
This statement is incorrect. The Rajya Sabha is presided over by the Vice President of India, not the President. Therefore, you can eliminate Option D (1, 2, and 3), as Statement 3 is wrong.
After eliminating Options A, B, and D, you are left with Option C (1 only).
Correct Answer: C) 1 only
In this example:
- You used elimination based on factual knowledge (Rajya Sabha is not directly elected and is presided over by the Vice President, not the President).
- This allowed you to quickly identify the correct option without needing to delve deeply into every detail of the question.
More Examples:
Let’s take a look at another example to solidify your understanding of the elimination strategy.
Question Example:
Consider the following statements regarding the Indian economy:
- The Planning Commission was established by an executive resolution.
- The Reserve Bank of India was nationalized in 1947.
- The NITI Aayog was established in 2015.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Options:a) 1 and 2 only
- b) 1 and 3 only
- c) 2 and 3 only
- d) 1, 2, and 3
Step-by-Step Elimination:
Statement 1: “The Planning Commission was established by an executive resolution.”
This is correct. The Planning Commission was set up in 1950 through a resolution by the Government of India, not by an Act of Parliament.
Statement 2: “The Reserve Bank of India was nationalized in 1947.”
This is incorrect. The Reserve Bank of India was nationalized in 1949, not 1947. Hence, eliminate options with Statement 2 as true (i.e., eliminate Option A and Option D).
Statement 3: “The NITI Aayog was established in 2015.”
This is correct. The NITI Aayog was indeed established in 2015 as a replacement for the Planning Commission.
After elimination, you are left with Option B (1 and 3 only).
Correct Answer: B) 1 and 3 only
Intelligent Elimination Techniques (IET)
Look for look-alike choices. One of them can be the answer.
- Conventional wisdom often dictates that if two answers look alike but are slightly different, one of the two choices is probably correct.
- Q) What is the purpose of the ‘evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA)’ project?
- a) To detect neutrinos
- b) To detect gravitational waves
- c) To detect the effectiveness of missile defence system
- d) To study the effect of solar flares on our communication systems
Correct Answer: B) To detect gravitational waves
- IET: Here the look-alike choices are A, B, and C. Choice ‘C’ can be eliminated as it mentions missiles, while the question is about ‘space’ antenna. We know that missiles are not generally connected with ‘space’. Now the choices are reduced to just 2 – A or B.
- Neutrinos can be detected even from earth. Remember the controversy about the India-based Neutrino Observatory (Tamil Nadu). The question is about Laser and Space. This eliminates options A. What is remaining is option B – which is the right answer. eLISA is used to detect gravitational waves.
Answer choices with ‘Always’ and ‘Never’ are usually wrong.
- Words such as ‘always’ and ‘never’ reflect that an answer choice would apply regardless of the situation.
- Answers containing words like ‘always’ and ‘never’ are typically incorrect.
- Q) The people of India agitated against the arrival of the Simon Commission because:
- a) Indians never wanted the review of the working of the Act of 1919
- b) Simon Commission recommended the abolition of Dyarchy (Diarchy) in the
provinces
- c) There was no Indian member in the Simon Commission
- d) The Simon Commission suggested the partition of the country
Correct Answer: C. There was no Indian member in the Simon Commission
- IET – Option ‘A’ has the word ‘never’. It is a too general statement, which can rarely be true. In fact, many Indians wanted a review of the working of the Act of 1919. Eliminate that option.
- Option D can be eliminated if you know the year of the arrival of the Simon Commission (1927). Partition became a topic in Indian History only by the 1940s.
If UPSC uses the word ‘can’ in the answer choice/statement for Science and Technology Questions, that choice/statement has a high probability of being correct.
Q). With reference to agricultural soils, consider the following statements:
1.A high content of organic matter in soil drastically reduces its water holding capacity.
2.Soil does not play any role in the sulphur cycle.
3.Irrigation over a period of time can contribute to the salinization of some agricultural lands.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)1 and 2 only
- b) 3 only
- d) 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: B. 3 only
IET – The first 2 statements use extreme words – ‘drastically’ and ‘any’. It can be eliminated. To further ease your selection, the last statement has a ‘can’. ‘Can’ shows a future possibility – which is most likely true with respect to most of the Science and Technology questions.
If UPSC specifically mentions any numerical value in the answer choice, that answer choice has a high probability of being wrong
- Q) With reference to ‘Astrosat’, the astronomical observatory launched by India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.Other than the USA and Russia, India is the only country to have launched a similar observatory into space.
2.Astrosat is a 2000 kg satellite placed in an orbit at 1650 km above the surface of the Earth.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below
- a) 1 only
- b) 2 Only
- c) Both 1 and 2
- d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2
IET – Can you identify what is wrong with this question? Which statement(s)? Actually, both statements are wrong.
Let’s first consider Statement 2. The problems with this statement are wrong numerical values. Actually, ASTROSAT has a lift-off mass of about 1513 kg and was launched into a 650 km orbit. The UPSC Question Paper experts just changed the numerical values about Astrosat to make this question wrong. If you keep a suspicious eye towards numerical values you see in question papers, there is every chance you can eliminate wrong choices. (This does not mean every numerical value mentioned in the UPSC Question paper is wrong).
What about Statement 1. The problem in this statement is the word ‘only’. India is not the ‘only’ country other than the USA and Russia. I have already warned you to be cautious about extreme statements.
If any part of an answer choice is false, then the entire answer choice can be eliminated as wrong.
Q.Consider the following in respect of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS):
1.Inaugural IONS was held in India in 2015 under the chairmanship of the Indian Navy.
2.IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime cooperation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- a) 1 only
- b) 2 only
- c) Both 1 and 2
- d) Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: B) 2 only
IET – We have already told you to be cautious of numbers in the statement. In this question, the first statement has a number – 2015. This value is actually wrong. Apart from this, the rest of the statement is correct. However, if a part of the statement is wrong, you should eliminate the entire answer choice as wrong.